How young a woman can a 52-year-old man romance without blurring or completely going beyond the line that separates love from predation?

I suddenly find myself smitten with a young woman in her mid-20s. She sold me a car a few days ago. Almost immediately after leaving the lot on the first of two test drives, the whole encounter started feeling a lot more like a date than a car purchase.

I don't think she was just being friendly to make the sale, either. I have a bit of proof: the way she closed her email reply to a “thank you” email I'd sent her later that same day, ended with this loaded sentence: “If you need anything in the future, please feel free to reach out!” (By the way, I didn't have to refer back to it just now to see what she wrote; I have it memorized, word for word! God help me!!)

That sentence was, I believe, in direct response to how I closed my email to her. My closing sentence also had a read-between-the-lines meaning to it:

“Thank you again for helping me find the right car today!” (Which, between the lines, is saying: “but not the right woman…you're too young for me.”)

What should I do? She's oh sooooo charming! We're both single and unattached as far as I know.

Play your cards and see where you end up. You'll never ever know if you never ever try. It could be all a salesperson's game or it might be something more. Trying to understand subtle email wording will lead nowhere other then more confusion and doubt.

Ask her out for a drink or dinner and see what happens next. I'll be interested in finding out how things go too so please do stop back and tell us.

If you have to ask yourself whether she's too young for you then she's too young for you. You can still go try but you need to admit to yourself that you're smitten with her for the same reason any older person is smitten with youth…

Well, some people just question what they're about to attempt is valid and need reassurance, especially if you are older and society's mentality is it's sometimes frowned upon to even think about dating a younger person.

In my opinion, providing it's consentual and legal, then go for it and see if there's something there.